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20150128 – Sixty-five

Last Saturday according to the calendar I became a senior citizen; I celebrated a major milestone, my sixty-fifth birthday. I have the Medicare card to go along with my AARP card. This was big. This wasn’t a tens digit. This was an event.

My wife asked me what I thought we should do to celebrate. My immediate reaction was, “spend the day with you!” Good call. The next question was, shouldn’t we throw a party? I thought about it, a lot. Spend time with my friends, her friends, our friends, our “Second Generation” friends; somehow that just wasn’t doing it for me despite the fact they’re all great people. No, I really wanted to be with my family. Again, good call.

The weekend turned out to be a great one with just us time, children and grandchildren time (via phone for some), and extended family time. My Dad said he was kind of amazed and pleased that he lived long enough to see his children reach Medicare age; and he picked up the tab for dinner out! The sibling chatter was the usual, but sprinkled with the occasional crack about age, just what I needed to keep me in my place. I don‘t think I could have asked for a better way of ushering in this new time of life.

It got me to pondering (of course you saw that coming didn’t you!) about the times in my life, and the passages I’ve experienced. I looked back on what I’ve been writing about lately and realized that what I really tend to share is passages, my life experiences and the transitions between them. My new tag line up in the header now reflects that subtle shift.

It’s not really about the age on the page, but the age in my head and my journey through this short time we have. I still think many of the same thoughts and dream the same dreams as I did in my twenties. I’m blessed to have lived out many of those dreams, and regretting that I didn’t live out even more of them. I don’t believe it’s possible to live a life totally without regrets, but it is possible to be happy with the choices I’ve made that brought me to this point.

Would I have made some different choices? Yes, without a doubt. Choices that may have kept away the health issues that now limit my future activities; choices that could have made my family life even happier and more fulfilling; choices that might have led to a career more consistent with my passions; choices that would have grounded me more firmly in my faith.

Will I make different choices now and in the future? Of course, because they’ll be based on where I am today in terms of faith, family, finances, health and dreams; but also because where I am today is the sum of God’s blessings and all the choices I’ve made to this point. And where I am is a good place to be, a place I would not trade for anything else this world has to offer, a brief stop on a continuing journey which I hope has many good years left…Pops